Yajirobe (Dragon Ball Series)
Yajirobe (ヤジロベー, Yajirobe) is a human ronin (masterless samurai) who met Goku while the latter was searching for Tambourine. He spends most of his time with Korin on Korin Tower, and usually delivers Senzu Beans to the Z Fighters. Despite his obesity and desire to avoid fighting, he is quite strong and swift in his movement, also being highly skilled with his katana. Appearance Yajirobe's appearance consists of small, beady black eyes, long, untidy black hair and due to his love for food, he is quite overweight. His outfit throughout the series is typical of the vagabond ronin subtype typified in manga and anime: consisting of a sleeveless, knee-length red yukata with black stripes, a black obi, black wristbands and black kyahan (gaiters/protective shin bands), waraji (woven straw sandals worn by Japanese serfs, and samurai when wearing their armor) and an ecchu fundoshi (type of red loincloth worn by samurai and ronin). He usually keeps his katana tucked into the left side of his obi. Later, in the last Dragon Ball Z arc, he grows a small moustache and he also sports a fur vest. Personality Yajirobe is very asocial, preferring to be by himself often so he can eat peacefully, often acting rude towards others. Yajirobe enjoys consuming large amounts of food and has a grumpy attitude to those who bug or distract him, even in the slightest. He enjoys eating wild roast pig and also possesses a particular affinity for steamed pork buns (butaman in Japanese); which he is depicted eating in several scenes throughout the series and regrets not consuming more when he thinks Vegeta is about to destroy the Earth during the Vegeta Saga. Also true to the vagabond ronin stereotype, Yajirobe is unkempt and does not care if his loincloth is visible to other people. According to the Daizenshuu and other databooks, Yajirobe enjoys driving stolen cars. He also enjoys fishing, hunting and taking afternoon naps. He is somewhat characterized as a coward because he tries to avoid major skirmishes, as seen with King Piccolo and Vegeta, but prefers to be thought of as intelligently careful. In spite of his cowardly and asocial traits, Yajirobe does possess a more honorable and noble side which is shown on several occasions. After Goku took a brutal beating at the hands of King Piccolo, Yajirobe rushes to his aid and helps him regain consciousness by supplying him with water from a nearby river. He later assists the weakened Goku by taking him to the top of Korin Tower, thus allowing him to drink the Ultra Divine Water which proves pivotal in the defeat of King Piccolo. Also, had it not been for Yajirobe catching him as he was falling to the ground after his battle with the Demon King, the heavily wounded Goku could have perished had his fall not been broken. In the Vegeta Saga he once again saves Goku from being crushed to death by the Great Ape Vegeta by severing the Saiyan Prince's tail and reverting him back into his humanoid form, which helps significantly in giving Gohan and Krillin the upper hand in the battle ahead. Later, after the Spirit Bomb fails to kill Vegeta, Yajirobe (the only fighter not worn out by the battle with the Saiyans) risks his life to save Gohan from Vegeta's wrath by severely wounding the Saiyan with his katana. Though this only angers Vegeta even more but gives Gohan the time he needs to transform into a Great Ape and finally defeat the Saiyan Prince once and for all. Biography Dragon Ball King Piccolo Saga Yajirobe is introduced as a samurai mountain hunter with an insatiable appetite, and his first appearance is a confrontation between him and Goku at Yajirobe's Prairie. Goku had eaten a big fish that Yajirobe was saving when he was wandering around after Tambourine had severely beaten him, and Yajirobe is upset because of this. He and Goku have an even fight, with each of them landing good blows. Both of them are surprised at each other's power and stamina. While the two were fighting, Cymbal sneaks up on them. Both Goku and Yajirobe are eager to fight him, but Yajirobe wins their game of Rock-Paper-Scissors, so he gets to fight. Cymbal demands Yajirobe gives up his Dragon Ball if he wants to live, but Yajirobe refuses and fights Cymbal. Cymbal punches Yajirobe a few times, but Yajirobe quickly recovers and gets back in the fight. The demon then fires many Beam Rays at Yajirobe, which the swordsman dodges with ease. Yajirobe then sprints towards Cymbal who is quickly and easily sliced in two. Cymbal is then quickly cooked and eaten by Yajirobe. Afterwards, Yajirobe tries to sprint away from Goku, who still wants Yajirobe's Dragon Ball. Yajirobe is also quite cunning; during the chase with Goku, Yajirobe breaks one of the rocks causing Goku to go down a waterfall. Later, Yajirobe witnesses Goku brutally killing Tambourine, and then King Piccolo arrives, sensing Tambourine's death. Before the battle commences, Yajirobe hides behind a tree, not wanting to die a painful death. After Yajirobe watches King Piccolo brutally batter Goku across the battlefield, King Piccolo easily defeats Goku, stopping his heart momentarily. Yajirobe checks Goku's heart to see if he is alive, which he is, and helps the severely injured Goku get some water and, after being promised that there would be food waiting for him at the top of Korin Tower, Yajirobe climbs to the tower with the damaged Goku on his back, with the assisted help of Bora. When Korin offers Goku a Senzu Bean to heal his wounds, Yajirobe bursts out in anger, due to the fact that he thought the special food Goku was talking about before was much better than this. As Yajirobe snatches the Senzu Bean pot and chomps down dozens of beans, he greatly increases in stomach size in a matter of seconds, not realizing that one bean can fill a person up for 10 days. He also helps Goku get the Ultra Divine Water. Yajirobe tries the water himself, only drinking a little sip, which caused him extreme pain. He then encourages Goku not to drink it, but Goku drinks the water anyway, and despite a lot of pain and agony for a couple of hours, Goku lives and powers up greatly. Yajirobe appears to watch Goku fighting King Piccolo at Central City, but he sees all the damage that King Piccolo had caused and decides that it is too dangerous to stay there. On his way back though, he remembers the free meal Goku owes him and heads back. Then, he assumes that Goku is beat up pretty badly and that he would not get that meal. But he remembers that he drank the Ultra Divine Water and goes to get his meal. He then dodges a missile that the good Launch accidentally fired. After King Piccolo is defeated, he saves Goku's life by catching him before he hits the ground. He is seen leaving with Goku to heal his wounds at the Korin Tower. Piccolo Jr. Saga He later masks himself and competes in the 23rd World Martial Arts Tournament in disguise, but he does not make it past the preliminaries, defeated by the disguised Kami in the last match of the preliminaries. After the Tournament ends, he assists Goku by giving him a Senzu Bean (this would become a bit of a gag, especially in some Dragon Ball Z movies; Dragon Ball Z: Lord Slug and Dragon Ball Z: Cooler's Revenge). Dragon Ball Z Saiyan Saga "Look. It's a strategy. The other guys are wearin' 'em down in the first round and I'm savin' my energy for round two." — Yajirobe talking to news reporters in Saibamen Attack! When Goku is killed along with an invading alien named Raditz, Yajirobe is instructed by Kami to deliver a message to Krillin at Kame House about the other invaders, foretold by Raditz. Yajirobe performs this task, but as usual, barely cares about the situation and would rather keep up his lazy schedule rather than attempt to fight the two invaders in the next year. Despite his lack of enthusiasm, Yajirobe does train on Kami's Lookout along with Tien Shinhan, Yamcha, Chiaotzu, and Krillin for the upcoming Saiyan invasion. He does train slightly, but is mostly seen eating. One year later, after the Saiyan's arrival on Earth, Yajirobe decides not to get involved in the battle against the Saibamen and Nappa, and instead gets interviewed by journalists in East City while eating free meals. Yajirobe tells them about the Saiyans and about "his men" calling them "Earth's Special Forces". When Vegeta and the revived Goku battle out in the Gizard Wasteland, Yajirobe watches from the sidelines, cowering most of the time. After Goku unleashes his Kaio-ken x4 Kamehameha, making Vegeta fly off into the sky, Yajirobe congratulates Goku, assuming he has killed Vegeta. However, Goku informs Yajirobe that it will take more than that blast to defeat him, so Yajirobe continues to hide behind the rocks and watch the fight. After Vegeta transforms into a gigantic Great Ape, Krillin and Gohan arrive on the battlefield. Krillin orders Yajirobe to help out, but Yajirobe is too frightened to even try. He eventually assists in the fight by first slicing through Vegeta's tail to protect Goku, which reverts Vegeta back to his humanoid form, and he later slices through Vegeta's Battle Armor to protect Gohan, this makes Vegeta faint briefly, making Yajirobe believe he killed him. Yajirobe then starts to blabber to himself "I can see it now, Earth's greatest threat, brought down by Yajirobe!" and "You should learn not to mess with the best, you can't handle it". It is at this moment that Vegeta rises, and criticizes Yajirobe for his proclaimed victory. After swinging his sword rapidly and pointlessly at the dodging Saiyan prince, Yajirobe comically explains he was just messing with Vegeta and not really trying to kill him. Vegeta then kicks Yajirobe in his face while he is still trying to talk his way out, knocking him into a rock. Vegeta proceeds to punch Yajirobe repeatedly in the face. This distraction provides Gohan with enough time to look at the Power Ball and transform into a Great Ape, defeating Vegeta. In the anime, he yelled out for Krillin to use his katana to finish off Vegeta, while in the manga Krillin simply picks up the sword on his own volition. Frieza Saga Yajirobe is next seen with the group going to the West City hospital, Wukong Hospital. He is not kept at the hospital because his injuries are minor. He later delivers a new crop of Senzu Beans to Goku in the hospital, so that Goku can instantly heal from his injuries and go to Namek. Yajirobe makes an appearance during the Frieza Saga during a filler only sequence, when he is forced to accompany Chi-Chi, Master Roshi and the others to Namek to bring back Gohan. Yajirobe frequently attempts to run away but is stopped each time. When Goku transforms into a Super Saiyan, Master Roshi tells Yajirobe, who is drinking a soda, that he has a feeling that Goku underwent a major power increase that would change him forever. Yajirobe also makes a single-panel appearance in the manga around the same time during a chapter teaser, where he is depicted camping in a forest as he wonders what Goku is doing. Cell Saga During the Garlic Jr. Saga, they receive a visit from Maron, Krillin’s girlfriend at the time. Maron nearly drives Yajirobe and Korin up the wall, as neither is quite prepared to handle a pretty woman in their household and she was difficult to say no to (particularly for Korin). Both were relieved when she left Korin Tower. Yajirobe appears briefly in the Androids Saga. He delivers Senzu Beans to the Z Fighters. Goku asks if Yajirobe is going to stay and fight, Yajirobe answers that he does not want to get himself killed, and then flies off in his hovercar. While leaving, his hovercraft is attacked by Androids 20 and 19. After being saved by the rest of the Z Fighters, he attempts to back out of helping the Z Fighters, trying to justify to an irritated Bulma that he can not help them anyways as he cannot fly. This results in Bulma forcing him to come along in her hovercar, although this was shot down by Android 20 when they got to the area, and remained in the vehicle when it crashed, although he survived. He is also shown holding the newborn Trunks on multiple occasions, always getting peed upon. His future counterpart is shown in a flashback of Future Trunks, where it is revealed he was murdered by the Androids of that time. Yajirobe is seen later on Korin Tower, when Goku tests his power to give Korin a reading so he could compare it to Cell's power, and again when the Z Fighters are on their way up to Kami's Lookout after Gohan defeated Cell. Majin Buu Saga It is never revealed if he died in Super Buu's Human Extinction Attack because the tower is directly below the lookout. However, assuming he did survive, he and Korin would have died soon thereafter along with everyone on Earth when Kid Buu blew it up with his Planet Burst. They were both restored to life with the Namekian Dragon Balls later on. Although he did not see the significance in raising his hands, Yajirobe participates in giving his energy to Goku's Super Spirit Bomb. Yo! Son Goku and His Friends Return!! Yajirobe, along with Korin, attends Mr. Satan's banquet at his newly made hotel in celebration of defeating Buu. The celebration is then crashed by a brother duo, Abo and Cado, whom are after Vegeta's brother, Tarble. The brothers are challenged by Goten and Trunks but they fail in defeating them. The brothers, merged as Aka, unleash a technique that destroyed the hotel. Yajirobe helps by chopping pieces of the hotel from the destruction. Aka is then defeated by Goku with a Kamehameha. After this encounter, they continue their feast. Dragon Ball Super Universe 6 Saga Yajirobe is at Korin Tower when he and Korin witness Goku on top of Korin's tower, attempting to use Instant Transmission to reach King Kai's planet. Future Trunks Saga Yajirobe and Korin were playing a game when Goku appeared and requested for a senzu. Before leaving, Goku wondered if the game that they were playing was fun. Yajirobe and Korin agreed, saying it is. Dragon Ball GT Baby Saga Yajirobe makes a brief appearance in Dragon Ball GT, when Kibito Kai saves him and Korin from the Earth's destruction. His age has started to show and his mustache is thicker. Film appearances Lord Slug Yajirobe appears in Dragon Ball Z: Lord Slug, giving Goku and Krillin Senzu Beans after they are knocked out by the meteor. He also gives them Senzu Beans after Lord Slug is killed. Cooler's Revenge In Dragon Ball Z: Cooler's Revenge, he gives Gohan a bag of Senzu Beans to take to Goku, as well as one last Senzu Bean he steals from Korin and passes to Gohan. This last Senzu Bean ultimately saves the day, as it is the lone one to survive Salza's Finger Beam, and restores Goku to health. The Return of Cooler In Dragon Ball Z: The Return of Cooler, he goes to New Namek with Goku, Gohan, Krillin, Piccolo, Oolong, and Master Roshi. Despite his usual nature, he is shown to be sorely disappointed at Oolong's cowardice and requests that he act more like Master Roshi, although this falls apart when Roshi also asks where they parked the ship, implying that he too wants to flee. He almost ended up killed by having his brains removed when he, the Namekians, and his party were captured by the Cyclopian Guards, but Goku and Vegeta's attempts at causing the real Meta-Cooler to malfunction using their power resulted in the Big Gete Star and the Guide Robo being destroyed before it could get a chance in cutting him up. Power Manga and Anime At the time when Goku and Yajirobe first met, Yajirobe was likely one of the strongest humans alive; he climbed the Korin Tower with Goku on his back in a single day (something Goku initially struggled with), and he seemed evenly matched with Goku despite not fighting at his maximum. Goku once considered him a challenge, saying "I've never met someone so tough!", implying that at least at that point Yajirobe was superior to Tien Shinhan and Master Roshi. However, upon merely hearing King Piccolo's name Yajirobe flees in terror, and like the rest of the other heroes, he is soon far surpassed by Goku. During the preliminaries of the 23rd World Tournament, Yajirobe is shown easily defeating everyone he was matched against until he fought Kami in disguise during his last match at the only World Tournament he entered. Yajirobe's next major appearance is in the Vegeta Saga where he trains with Kami and Mr. Popo on Kami's Lookout. In the anime, Yajirobe easily defeats Krillin while sparring at Kami's Lookout, all the while eating and moving nonchalantly; he then fights "seriously" after Krillin tells him to. After training, Kami tells the Z Fighters that all of them have surpassed both Mr. Popo and himself. In addition to his physical power, Yajirobe also shows exceptional skill as a swordsman and on more than one occasion, demonstrates the ability to cleave objects or opponents thicker than the blade of his katana clean in half. Yajirobe is the only primary Z Fighter who never learns the ability to fly and usually uses this as an excuse not to fight. Statements by authors and guidebooks His power level during the battle against Vegeta is 970. The movie pamphlet for Dragon Ball Z: The Tree of Might states that Yajirobe has a power level of 2,100. Video games Yajirobe's power level is 500 in Dragon Ball Z: The Anime Adventure Game Techniques * Hikou – Yajirobe can move through the air by moving his legs at high speed, making it appear as though he is running through the air. * Sword Blast – Yajirobe creates a beam of energy from his sword and launches it at the opponent. Used in the Budokai Tenkaichi series. * Ka-Blam Slicer – Yajirobe creates a very large beam of energy from his sword and launches it at the opponent. Used in the Budokai Tenkaichi series. * Gigantic Rock Throw – The first attack Yajirobe used against Goku, after Goku ate his meal. * Ka-Blam Hammer – Yajirobe rushes full speed at the opponent, knocks them up into the air, jumps after them, and performs a combination of four punches and smashes them down. Used in Budokai Tenkaichi 2. * Iaigiri (居合い斬; lit. "fast-draw slash") – A real life sword technique that is Yajirobe's typical sword attack. The user draws his katana from its scabbard and slashes the enemy in a single fluid motion. He used this technique to kill Cymbal. Named in the Daizenshuu 2 and Daizenshuu 7, and also used as part of his Ka-Blam Slicer technique in the Budokai Tenkaichi ''series. * '''Flash and Kill' – Yajirobe rushes full speed at the opponent, knocks them up into the air, and slashes them with the Iaigiri technique as they fall from the sky. Named in Budokai Tenkaichi 3. * Miracle Ka-Blam Slash – Yajirobe rushes to his opponent and uses his katana sword to repeatedly slash and stab his opponent. It is his Ultimate Blast in the Budokai Tenkaichi series. * Senzu – One of Yajirobe's Blast 1 in the Budokai Tenkaichi series. * Super Unyielding Spirit – One of Yajirobe's Blast 1 in the Budokai Tenkaichi series. * Ki Sense – The ability to sense ki energy, which Yajirobe learned while training on Kami's Lookout. In the anime only, he demonstrates the ability to use it to pinpoint the exact location of Vegeta and Nappa to journalists. The manga and anime also hints at his ability to use it during the Vegeta battle when he senses the Spirit Bomb's enormous ki. Video games Yajirobe usually appears as a one-line character in cutscenes for most Dragon Ball video games, such as Dragon Ball: Daimaō Fukkatsu, Dragon Ball Z Gaiden: Shin Saiyajin Zetsumetsu Keikaku - Chikyū-Hen and Uchū-Hen, Dragon Ball Z: Super Gokuden: Kakusei-Hen, Dragon Ball: Advanced Adventure, Dragon Ball Z: Budokai, Dragon Ball Z: Budokai 3, Dragon Ball: Revenge of King Piccolo, Dragon Ball Online, and Dragon Ball RPG: Shōnen-hen. He appears in the background of the Gizard Wasteland battle stage in Dragon Ball Z Arcade. In Budokai 3, during the Majin Buu Saga in the story mode, if Piccolo goes to the Plains west of Kame House, he will find Yajirobe, who survived Super Buu's Human Extinction Attack. Yajirobe is a boss in Dragon Ball 3: Gokuden and Dragon Ball Z: Super Gokuden: Totsugeki-Hen. In Dragon Ball Z: Kyōshū! Saiyan, Dragon Ball Z: Legend of the Super Saiyan, Dragon Ball Z III: Ressen Jinzōningen, Dragon Ball Z: Legendary Super Warriors, and Dragon Ball Z: Harukanaru Densetsu, the player can use Yajirobe cards during battles to summon Yajirobe, who will attack the opponent with a powerful sword slash. Yajirobe cards can be bought for 5 points in Legend of the Super Saiyan, and are proven very useful during the battle against Vegeta to revert him to his base form if turns into a Great Ape. In Dragon Ball Z: Attack of the Saiyans, after visiting Yajirobe at Kami's Lookout, Krillin learns a special technique called "Y-Yajirobe?!"; when Krillin uses this technique during a battle, Yajirobe comes and gives Senzu Beans to the Z Fighters, and then attacks their opponents with a sword slash before leaving. In Dragon Ball Z: The Legacy of Goku II, Yajirobe is found in several locations and gives Senzu Beans to the Z Fighters (such as at West City, Amenbo Island, and in the Northern Mountains). In Dragon Ball Z: Buu's Fury, Yajirobe gives Senzu Beans by just talking to him at Korin Tower (this opportunity ends when Super Buu escapes from the Hyperbolic Time Chamber). Yajirobe appears during the Warriors of Earth team attack in Dragon Ball Z: Supersonic Warriors 2. In 2006, Yajirobe made his first appearance as a fighter in Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi 2, and he later returned as a playable character in Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi 3. He attacks using his katana, and he is also able to eat a Senzu Bean restoring him to full health. In the Budokai Tenkaichi series, whenever a tailless Vegeta (aside from Majin Vegeta) fights Yajirobe, Yajirobe says "I gotta go talk to a guy about stuff" and Vegeta says "Oh really? Well I'll give you something to talk about!", a special dialogue between the two. Yajirobe is an assist character in Dragon Ball Z: Bakuretsu Impact. Voice actors * Japanese: Mayumi Tanaka * Ocean dub: Brian Drummond * FUNimation dub: Mike McFarland * Blue Water dub: Lucas Gilbertson * AB Groupe dub: Ed Marcus * Creative Products Corporation dub: Ethel Lizano * Latin American dub: Araceli de León (†) (until her death), Luis Daniel Ramírez (second voice in DBZ and DBZ Kai), Mariana Ortiz (first voice DBZ Kai), José Luis Reza Arenas (Movies) * Portuguese dub: António Semedo (†), Romeu Vala (Dragon Ball Super) * Brazilian Portuguese dub: Vagner Fagundes and Rodrigo Andreato, Thiago Longo (DBKai) * Catalan dub: Marta Calvó (DBZ), Maria Moscardó (DBZ and DBZ Kai) Battles Dragon Ball * Yajirobe vs. Goku * Yajirobe vs. Cymbal * Yajirobe and Goku vs. Darkness Ice Monsters (Anime only) * Yajirobe vs. Hero/Shen (Kami) Dragon Ball Z * Yajirobe vs. Krillin (Anime only) * Yajirobe and Chiaotzu vs. Yamcha (Anime only) * Yajirobe, Krillin, and Gohan vs. Vegeta (Great Ape) * Yajirobe vs. Vegeta Trivia * He is named after a Japanese balancing toy (弥次郎兵衛, Yajirobee). * In the original manga, Goku says that Yajirobe's voice resembles Krillin's. In the anime, Mayumi Tanaka voices both characters. She said that in scenes with Krillin and Yajirobe together, Yajirobe's Nagoya accent is intensified to tell them apart. * In the Japanese dub of Dragon Ball and Dragon Ball Z, Yajirobe speaks in a Nagoya dialect. The dialect he speaks is often translated into Yajirobe speaking words such as "ain't", "s'posta" (supposed to), or "What'cha doin'" and also dropping sounds in certain words since this is the best way to convey the dialect. * Yajirobe is the only character besides Goku to appear on the manga picture twice (when all manga volumes are lined up, their spines make a picture). Akira Toriyama stated that this is an honest mistake. * When Yajirobe arrives at the Kame House to tell Krillin and that he, Yamcha, Tien, and Chiaotzu will be trained by Kami, Krillin says Yajirobe's name incorrectly. Krillin calls him "Itchyrobe" in the anime, "Armadillo" in the manga, and "Yo-Yo Brain" in Budokai 3. In the English dub, Krillin refers to Yajirobe as "Hokiphoki" (and is immediately corrected). In FUNimation's remastered season boxset, Krillin says "I remember you, you are a... what's your name?" rather than attempting to guess at Yajirobe's name. In Attack of the Saiyans, Krillin calls him "Alumajiro". * During both instances in the Saiyan Saga, when Yajirobe attacked Vegeta, Gohan was about to be killed by the Saiyan prince. This was likewise the case when Yajirobe lost patience and screamed at Krillin to hurry and throw the Spirit Bomb. * In Dragon Ball Forever's poll of the top 20 best characters, Yajirobe was voted number 19 by Japanese fans. This is above Videl. * Yajirobe is briefly seen in Dr. Slump and Arale-chan: N-cha! Love Comes From Penguin Village, where he runs past the screen after Korin does in the opposite direction. * In the Japanese dub of the anime, Korin mispronounces Yajirobe's name as "Yajirobi" instead of "Yajirobé". * Yajirobe's hobbies are fishing, hunting, and afternoon naps. * Yajirobe's favorite food is roast wild pig. * Yajirobe's favorite vehicles is stolen cars. Gallery Category:Characters Category:Heroes Category:Dragon Ball Category:Dragon Ball Characters Category:Dragon Ball Heroes